Each of Ashira's steps was short and clumsy, but she didn't stop running.The night draped the forest in a black cloak; the wind howled through the treetops, and soon the rain began to fall in heavy sheets.She ran until she found a crevice in the trunk of an ancient tree — a hollow wide enough to curl into.
"The chance of lightning hitting this tree is high… but I have no choice."
Ashira muttered, settling into the damp cavity. The wood smelled of mold and ash; the whole world seemed made of smoke.
Who was that man in white? His clothes looked like clerical robes from my old world — ridiculous.She tried to joke with herself to keep the fear away. I hope Isabell is okay.
Minutes dragged on like hours. Then something warm pressed against the pocket of her coat. She slipped her hand inside and pulled out the object: the necklace.
"Ah… right. I had put this necklace here," she murmured, her voice low and weary.
The weight of this new world pressed down on her. In this place, I can't even use my own name. I'm just a useless little girl. Tsk — I'll have to get used to it.She looked at the red pendant, flickering under the rain.
There was something in its glow that held the eyes, as if the object were begging to be worn. Ashira slipped it around her neck, like a child trying to console herself with a toy.Nothing happened.
She closed her eyes, waiting — and then heard a cold voice inside her head, like a metallic echo:
[Mana recognized.][Analyzing body state.][Analyzing location.]
Her eyes shot open. What the hell is this? Am I losing my mind? she thought, her heart pounding faster.Looking down, she saw the necklace glowing, a crimson light pulsing against the soaked fabric.
[Full Analysis]
"Fufufu… hello, child… or perhaps not? Hm, no matter."A soft, ironic female voice echoed in her mind, like a forbidden whisper.
Ashira—or rather, Tyler within Ashira—widened his eyes."Who's there?!"
"On your neck, idiot." The necklace replied, laughing with malice.
He gripped the pendant tightly, as if that could silence it. But the voice continued, mocking, almost seductive:"What a curious creature you are… half human, half High Elf. There isn't even a name for that. Perhaps… 'Superior Human'? Or 'Inferior High Elf'? Fufufu… pathetic and grand all at once."
Tyler clenched his teeth, feeling the mockery pierce through his mind."What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, but the most fascinating thing… isn't the body." The tone dropped lower, almost a hot whisper in his ear."It's your soul."
Tyler blinked, confused."My… soul?"
"Hah… no, 'soul' in the singular won't do. You have two," she said, with cruel delight."Two essences fused into one body. Neither united, nor separate. Blended like wine and blood."
He froze."Two…?"
"Yes, two. You remember who you were, don't you? Tyler. But there's also the little girl… Ashira. You don't speak to each other, you're not separate voices. You just… blur. At times you act like an adult, other times you react like a child. Not because you want to, but because both of you are you now."
Tyler felt a tightness in his chest."So… that childishness… it wasn't my weakness. It was her."
"Exactly, dear." The voice seemed to revel in provoking him."You are one body, but two souls struggling to coexist. A mistake of fate, a cosmic accident. And if you don't learn to live with each other… one day, one of you will devour the other."
A shiver ran down his spine."Damn…" he murmured. "And you… who are you?"
For a moment, silence. Then the answer came, smooth as poison in honey."Me? I'm just a soul trapped in this necklace. Not so different from you, stuck in a body that wasn't yours. We're almost siblings… hahahaha."
Tyler felt his stomach turn."Trapped? What do you mean?"
"Listen, child." The voice lost its playful edge, becoming thick and heavy like smoke. "This necklace was made to serve the Bearers of Calamity. But alone, it wouldn't have held. So… that damned demon sealed me here, to stabilize the jewel. This is a divine-grade treasure… the Bloodstone of Chaos."
Tyler's heart hammered."Bearers of Calamity? Demon? Bloodstone of Chaos? What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Hmhmhm…" the laughter returned, soft and malicious. "Not the time for you to know everything. For now, just accept this: the necklace will guide you, with or without my goodwill. Because if it were up to me… I'd eat you right now, you bizarre little thing."
Before he could answer, red runes flared on the pendant, and an invisible screen formed in his mind:[SYSTEM LINKED TO ACTIVE BEARER]
Bloodstone of Chaos initializedAdjusting receptacleDual essence detectedForced assistance protocol: ACTIVE
Tyler swallowed hard as the voice's laughter still echoed—sweet and threatening at once:"Fufufu… let's see how far you can last, Tyler… or should I say… Ashira?"
The necklace flared intensely, and pain burned like liquid fire coursing through his veins. Ashira dropped to her knees, feeling the world collapse.
[Bloodstone of Chaos system started][Detecting multiple souls][Processing fusion…]
She screamed, clutching her chest as the messages kept appearing, relentless:[ Assimilating secondary soul ][ Past life memories: sealed ][ Knowledge: preserved ][ Incompatible personalities — forcing integration ]
Ashira's body trembled as the pain finally subsided.Her breath came fast, her forehead slick with sweat, but little by little the world came back into focus.The trees, the rain, the distant sound of nocturnal beasts… everything seemed clearer, sharper, logical.It wasn't like before.
[ Fusion complete ][ Final identity: Ashira ][ Synchronization state: unstable ]
Ashira raised a hand to her head."Ngh… what… was that…?"
No answer came. There was only a strange emptiness inside her, as if something had been torn away. Yet in its place lay a new weight: calculations, deductions, patterns.Not memories. No faces, no foreign names. Only raw knowledge. An arsenal of logic and reasoning that no child should possess.
The necklace laughed, a low, seductive, mocking laugh."Fufufu… what a spectacle. A little girl with the reasoning of an adult. An imperfect fusion… delicious."
She opened her eyes slowly. There was no innocence in them, only a calm far too mature for her young face."So… it's me now. Just me."
The necklace chuckled again, almost satisfied."Yes. Just you, little Ashira."
Ashira pressed the pendant to her chest. There was no fear in her voice, only a cold resolve that didn't belong to a child:"I understand. Then I'll live like this. As Ashira."
The memories of Tyler's past life were erased—his very name lost to the void.What remained was only the knowledge he carried and the cold sharpness of his mentality.All of it fused into the girl's soul, now taking the shape of a single identity: Ashira.